I Hear Your Voice: Episode 16

It’s time for fallout, consequences, and a hefty dose of horrifying omens. What, you didn’t think Show would send you into finale week without the ever-living terror ground into your bones, did you? Pssh. As a standalone episode it’s the least whole of the series—it’s a bit of a prelude episode, to set us up for the finale to come. Ratings hit another high at 24.1% today.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

EPISODE 16: “Overture to La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie)”

Su-ha hears Do-yeon’s conflicted thoughts about prosecuting her biological father in court, and sends Hye-sung to find her in the bathroom. She finds Do-yeon sobbing uncontrollably, and Do-yeon begs for her help to save her dad.

I know, a hug is asking for too much (and would frankly be jarring) but would it kill you to pat the girl on the back?

By the time Lawyer Shin comes looking for them, they’re both crouching behind a row of chairs like co-conspirators, which kind of makes my day. Hye-sung asks if Do-yeon can really go back in there, and I honestly think she’s talking about the state of her mascara as much as her dilemma about her two fathers.

She mimes to Lawyer Shin, as if Do-yeon’s tears weren’t telling enough, and Do-yeon sincerely asks for their help to get an acquittal for Hwang Dal-joong. Hye-sung assures her that they’ll do their best, and Su-ha smiles.

Lawyer Shin even gives her the closing argument, saying that she’s their best shot at moving the jury. After the prosecution gives their closing statement, Hye-sung looks over at Su-ha to ask how many jurors are on her side. He says four.

She gets up to speak and scoffs at Lawyer Shin’s worry that she’s nervous (even throwing in a hair flip for good measure, ha) but gets off to a rocky start. She shuts her eyes and takes a deep breath, and it takes us to a flashback.

She finds Kwan-woo listening to music before a trial, and he says it’s a form of mind control, to prepare himself before he enters the room. He shares, and it’s the overture to the opera La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie). She asks why this song, and he says it’s based on a true story.

Back in the courtroom, Hye-sung plays the song in her head, and it calms her nerves. It also gives her an idea, and she opens her argument with the story of the opera—a woman is sent to prison for stealing silver, when in fact the real culprit was a magpie.

She asks who’s to blame in this circumstance—the bird, or just plain bad luck? She says that it was the law that sent her to the gallows that’s to blame, and the people who made that unjust decision. Her argument is for the jury to right the wrongs of the system, and by the time she’s done, Su-ha’s holding up all ten fingers.

While they break for the jury’s decision, Sung-bin and Choong-ki arrive, having gotten so heated in their debate over the case that they wanted to see how it turned out. Su-ha laughs, and then gapes when he sees Choong-ki’s nails painted blue. Haha.

The jury is unanimous in their verdict: not guilty. But the problem is the judge, who disagrees, and has the final say. He calls both sides to a conference room to deliberate. As the prosecutor argues, Hye-sung gets a phone call and screams, “Shut up, Grass Hair, I can’t hear!” Hahahaha.

It’s good news: the victim is awake. It doesn’t change the fact that they have to make a decision though, and Grass Hair is pretty much the only vocal dissenter. Finally Do-yeon speaks up and offers to withdraw the prosecution entirely.

Aw, are you throwing yourself under the bus to save your dad? Grass Hair tells her this won’t be taken lightly, and she says she’s prepared for the consequences.

The trial resumes for the verdict, and the judge sums up the arguments again, just in case we were sleeping the first time. He then announces that the prosecution has withdrawn the case, and that Hwang Dal-joong is a free man.

He breaks down in tears in the middle of the courtroom, as does Lawyer Shin. It’s twenty-six years’ worth of tears for the both of them. Do-yeon struggles to hold back her tears, and Hye-sung holds Lawyer Shin’s hand as he cries.

She exchanges a victorious thumbs-up with Su-ha, while Sung-bin gets to gloat over winning the debate, and hugs Choong-ki. Omo. He goes from sulky to happy in about two seconds flat. Okay, you had nothing to do with the case, but that was worth it.

Long after the courtroom has cleared out, Hye-sung and Do-yeon are the only ones left. Do-yeon is the first to get up, and stops to say in a tiny voice: “I’m sorry.” Gasp. Hye-sung wonders if she doesn’t mean “Thank you,” but no, Do-yeon was talking about the fireworks eleven years ago.

Hye-sung can’t believe it, and wonders if Do-yeon finally believes that she may have been wrong. Do-yeon: “I think just like my father, I didn’t want to acknowledge that I might be wrong. But I found out today, just how horrible it is not to acknowledge your wrongs.”

She turns around to look her in the eye: “I apologize. Sincerely.” Wow. And Hye-sung doesn’t even gloat about it (I fully expect her to later, but I think it’s big of her not to do it in front of her face) and just accepts the apology.

Lawyer Shin and Hwang Dal-joong finally get to smile and laugh after the trial, and Dal-joong sees Do-yeon walking out. He asks if she’s really his daughter, and says he pretty much figured out what Judge Seo did.

Lawyer Shin asks if he isn’t angry, and Dal-joong says he is, but he already forgave. Hye-sung and Su-ha stop to listen. Lawyer Shin wonders how such a thing can be forgiven, but Dal-joong just smiles, “I don’t have much time. I don’t want to spend the rest of my days hating someone. I don’t want the last things I feel in this life to be so terrible. That’s why I forgave.”

The words trigger Hye-sung’s last memory of Mom, and what she told her in her final moments: “Promise me, that you won’t spend your life hating someone else.” Su-ha looks over at her and reads her thoughts as she sheds a tear.

He just puts an arm around her and pulls her close without a word, while Lawyer Shin hugs Dal-joong.

Do-yeon comes home and back-hugs Mom, and then asks through her tears: “No matter what I say, I’m still your daughter, right?” Aw. She asks Mom to brace herself, and starts to tell her what she knows.

Hye-sung plops down on the couch at home, and Su-ha tells her she should rest after expending so much energy today. She sighs that he did all the work, and chastises herself for relying on him again.

She tells herself she has to stop depending on him all the time, and he pouts, “Why can’t you keep depending on me?” Hye-sung: “Obviously because…” and she doesn’t finish her thought, because the news report of the case comes on.

The verdict gets reported rather succinctly, with no mention of her. She shoots up from the couch, suddenly very energized, and up in arms about how they could leave her out: “ME. I was the star of that case! They call that news?!” Lol.

Su-ha: “I thought you said it was all because of me.” She huffs that that’s just stuff you say, and he laughs.

Judge Seo finds the breakfast table set for one, and his wife says that Do-yeon told her everything. They plan to stay at Grandma’s house for a while, and adds that never in thirty years did she think he could be that cruel a person.

He’s left alone at the table muttering aloud to himself, “What did I do wrong? I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t do anything wrong!” Is it wrong that I rather enjoy that he’s a bitter hateful man till the end?

Hye-sung tells Kwan-woo all about the trial on the way into the office that morning, and she hilariously gathers the whole office and asks Lawyer Shin to tell everyone how good she was. She cracks me up.

She insists on details, and Lawyer Shin genuinely tells her she did a great job, adding that it made him wonder if he had any right to give advice and act like he knows anything.

Kwan-woo picks up on his existential crisis, but Hye-sung remains blissfully unaware, and keeps prodding for more praise. Kwan-woo plays interference and makes sure that Lawyer Shin is okay, and he swears he’s fine.

Do-yeon goes to see Hwang Dal-joong in the hospital, and returns his belongings that he had the day he entered prison. He asks if there wasn’t a set of pastels, and she takes them out of her purse: “Didn’t you buy these for me?”

She asks him to sit down, and takes out a sketchpad. Aw to draw his portrait? He lights up, and she says nonchalantly, “I’ll come by as often as I can from now on to draw for you… Father.”

He doesn’t even really register it until a moment later, and then asks her to repeat it. He has to prod her to repeat the last part, and she finally says it again: “Father.” He breaks down in sobs, and she tells him not to move otherwise it’ll ruin the picture, so they both tamp down their tears and smile.

Kwan-woo finds Lawyer Shin deep into his third bottle of soju that night, and joins him. Lawyer Shin asks what might have happened twenty-six years ago if Hwang Dal-joong had met a different lawyer—someone like Kwan-woo or Hye-sung. He figures he might not have wasted half his life away unjustly, blaming himself for all of it.

Kwan-woo knows a pity party when he sees it, and asks if Lawyer Shin remembers someone throwing poop all over his car seven years ago. He does. “That… was me.” Haha. What?

He gets chased in circles around the pojangmacha table and Lawyer Shin screams that it took forever to get all that poop off. He asks why, when they didn’t even know each other then. Kwan-woo promises to tell him the story if he won’t hit him.

He says that was back when he was a cop (and partners with Hyung Cop currently on Su-ha Watch), after the Red Socks Murder trial. He didn’t shower or change his underwear for seven days to catch that bastard (ew, thanks) and worked tirelessly to collect all the incriminating evidence.

But because of one public defender, all his work was for nothing, and Red Socks was proven innocent in court. Lawyer Shin asks if that’s a reason to go throwing poop around, and they go for another spin around the table.

Kwan-woo says the real criminal was caught later, and Lawyer Shin saved two people that day in court: Red Socks, who would’ve spent his life in jail unjustly, and Kwan-woo, who would’ve been responsible for that man’s life.

“And so that day I quit the police force and began to study the law, so that I could become a public defender, just like you.” D’awwwww.

And then Lawyer Shin does the best thing ever. He just stands there, arms outstretched, waiting for his big bro-hug. It’s so great.

Kwan-woo runs over to hug him, and then Lawyer Shin gets in a good hair pull for the poop thing, before coming back around to the hugging. Heh.

Su-ha sleeps on the couch, and he’s lit way too dreamily for this to be real. Hye-sung wakes him up gently, wearing a white dress. He wonders why she’s dressed that way at home out of the blue, and takes a look around the room. “Is this a dream?”

Hye-sung: “Of course it’s a dream, like this would be real. Could your dreams be more childish?” She futzes with her dress: “What is this concept anyway?” HA, I love that Dream Hye-sung is a smartass.

He says she looks pretty, and she just rolls her eyes, ordering him to hurry and wake up because the dress is uncomfortable. He just grabs her in a hug and says he’ll wake up whenever he wants to, and kisses her forehead and cheek and snuggles some more. Gah.

Then suddenly, her hand falls limp. What. He looks down at his own hand, and it’s covered in blood. He asks what it is, but she’s already dead in his arms, and bleeding through her dress, in the place where he once stabbed her.

He pleads with her to wake up, but she doesn’t.

Hye-sung finds him tossing and turning in the middle of his nightmare, and wakes him up. He finally opens his eyes, and grabs her in a hug, so relieved that it was just a dream and she’s okay.

She asks what he dreamt, and he says it was nothing, but won’t let go of his vice grip on her.

Min Joon-gook looks like he’s planning to spring into action—he gathers a rope, duct tape, and his favorite weapon of choice, a wrench.

Kwan-woo gets to the office early and intercepts two more letters from Min Joon-gook, this time a story written by someone else reporting that a man went into a violent rage at a hospital. A flashback shows it was Min Joon-gook. And then another is an article about a grandma with dementia and a little boy, found in the streets. Interesting, this is going further back than just the two wives’ deaths.

Hye-sung and Su-ha stop by the mall, and she asks what his dream was about. He refuses to tell her, which she calls unfair since he can read her mind, and guesses that maybe it was a naughty dream: “He is a man…”

He hears her thinking it and swears up and down that it wasn’t, and she does that patronizing, Oh okay, we’ll say it wasn’t. He butts heads with her to get her to take it back.

They split up to run errands, and he catches her stopping to look at a pretty necklace and sighing that it’s too expensive. It looks conspicuously just like the one in his dream. Uh-oh. Don’t buy the thing in the omen! Don’t tempt Fate!

Once she’s gone he goes over to look at it and sighs at the price, wondering if Uncle deposited his allowance yet. I love the pair of detectives watching from their respectful distance, sucking on lollipops and sighing at the romance. “It makes me want to date.” “Does your wife know that?”

A woman shows up eyeing the same necklace, and the jeweler says it’s the last one. Suddenly Su-ha bolts, and the detective on Su-ha duty sighs, “He’s running again.” Lol, I didn’t stop to think how annoying his job would be. At least Hye-sung is always in heels.

He chases him all the way to the ATM, and witnesses the adorable little “Yessssss!” when he checks and sees money in his account. He grabs the cash and runs back, annoyed detective in tow. He slams the cash down to buy the necklace, and the shopkeeper happily sells it to him instead of dealing with the crazy lady who keeps trying to haggle (both are comediennes swinging by for a cameo).

Do-yeon sketches her father, and amidst jokes about his better side (she deadpans that he doesn’t have one) he wonders if she would’ve grown up to be this beautiful and smart if he had raised her.

She says (not even slightly kidding), “Of course. No matter who raised me, I’d be pretty and successful.” She proudly shows him the finished product, beaming that it’s a perfect likeness. He agrees in that way a father would say of an unintelligible finger painting, and then adds that she probably chose well to quit art and go to law school. Ha.

He suggests they take a selca and send it to Hye-sung and Lawyer Shin, and I never would’ve believed it, but she does it, complete with cutesy faces. Lawyer Shin laughs, and Hye-sung actually jumps in horror.

She picks up her phone like it has cooties and tells Pretty the Paralegal, “No matter what you could possibly imagine, I saw the thing that’s worse than that.” Pfffft.

She goes rooting through Kwan-woo’s desk looking for a new rubber thimble, when she comes upon a stack of letters addressed to her. Uh-oh. Kwan-woo runs in a moment too late, and she asks why he has her mail.

Su-ha is walking down the street grinning from ear to ear, when a pickpocket on a motorcycle whooshes by and nabs his bag. Not the necklace! He was SO happy. The detective runs after him, but gets knocked down. It turns out to be a license plate he’s already familiar with, and he calls the precinct to say that the purse-snatcher has shown up again.

Hye-sung sits Kwan-woo down in the conference room, and it’s a little like principal and misbehaving kid. He refuses to make eye contact, which she doesn’t let go on for very long. He begs her not to make him say anything, because he can’t.

She figures that it must be for her own good, because that’s the kind of person Kwan-woo is. She guesses that whatever the truth is, she’ll be hurt. “If that’s the case, then I’m really disappointed in you. Do you think that I’m that pathetic a person that I can’t even handle a thing like this?”

THANK YOU. Why do the boys not understand she’s a grown-ass woman? I mean, yes, petty and immature, but still. She can handle the truth, people.

He remains tight-lipped, so she says she’ll just have to find out for herself. She grabs the articles and gets up, when he finally spills the beans: the reporter is Su-ha’s father, the grandma with dementia is Min Joon-gook’s mother with his son, and the person who sent the letters is Min Joon-gook.

The detective returns Su-ha’s bag and he’s relieved to find the necklace untouched. He isn’t missing anything else, except for his phone. He doesn’t seem worried about it, but I get the sneaking suspicion we ought to worry.

He pops into the office looking for Hye-sung, but they say she’s in court. So he goes to the courthouse, but it’s empty, and a clerk says the hearing was rescheduled because the defense lawyer never showed. Okay, it’s too early to panic, right? She could just be upset.

He finds Kwan-woo out in the hall and he doesn’t know where she is either. They came together, and each had trials. He calls, but she hangs up as soon as he says hello. Su-ha reads his mind and realizes that she knows about his father and the letters.

Kwan-woo says he had to tell her the truth because she found them in his desk, and Su-ha asks in a panicked voice if she knows the whole truth—about his father starting this whole chain of events.

Kwan-woo confirms that she knows the whole story, but promises that it has nothing to do with her going off the grid. Su-ha screams, “What do you know?!” His eyes fill with tears, “Why did you tell her?”

He storms out of the courthouse, and his detective sighs that he should’ve picked Hye-sung duty. He asks his partner to switch, which of course gets denied.

Kwan-woo runs out and asks Hye-sung’s detective if he’s seen her. He says he never even took a bathroom break, and swears she never came out. It’s official: she’s missing. Okay, I’m starting to panic now.

Su-ha sits outside the courthouse and drives himself crazy thinking about how furious Hye-sung must be, and how he lied to her time and again. He walks over to the payphone and thinks to himself: “How do I tell her? No excuse will get through to her. What if she hears my voice and hangs up? If this is the end, will I be able to live?”

His hand trembles as he picks up the receiver and dials her number. She picks up. He races to say it’s Su-ha, and begs her to listen and not hang up. But it’s Min Joon-gook who answers on the other end of the line. Fuuuuuck. “I’ve been waiting for your call, Park Su-ha. Are you looking for Jang Hye-sung?”

The receiver drops from his hand, and he lets out this terrifying, wailing scream, over and over as he beats his head against the phone, like he might knock the whole booth over. And then he narrates:

Su-ha: July 26, 2013, 3:10 in the afternoon. She was kidnapped by Min Joon-gook. And two hours and thirty minutes later, our story of eleven years came to an end.

COMMENTS

Oh. Holy. Crap. And he doesn’t even have his phone to track her! Aaaaaugh. I knew that pickpocket was bad news. That damned necklace was a diversion. It was the freaking phone we should’ve cared about, Su-ha-ya! Goddamn omen. Nothing good ever happens after somebody has a dream on this show.

I was thisclose to calling it a slow episode (granted it still was for the most part, and far less cohesive than any other episode of the series) but then that happened, and now I’m back to the way I love to be when watching this show: terrified and clutching my broken heart. We did meander a bit to get here for the past few episodes, which is an unavoidable fact of the late extension. I mean, all that angst about The Secret and Kwan-woo outs it offscreen anyway? Whatever. I guess the fallout with Su-ha is the more important part, which will come later. Well, hopefully later, because if one of them dies in two and a half hours, I’ll stop believing there’s any good left in this world.

At least Min Joon-gook FIIIIINALLY got his act together. I still don’t see the point of having waited so long if all he was going to do was kidnap her, which so far is unimpressive for the guy who cut off his hand so that Su-ha would go to jail for murder. Yunno, on the Evil Scale of Evil. And what was the point of the chain mail when he was just going to kidnap her anyway? Basically we spun our wheels on the central plot to fill extension time, which I don’t hate for the extra episodes themselves, but it does take something away from the villain in the grand scheme of things. Thankfully we have a long history of things we’ve seen him do that are terrifying enough to keep us on edge now, despite the fact that he hasn’t done something scary in a while.

My favorite moments in this episode were the friendship ones, between the two girls and between Kwan-woo and Lawyer Shin. (Also the two detectives, who’re cracking me up. Wish we had gotten more running commentary from them in past episodes.) The reconciliation between Do-yeon and Hye-sung felt so earned—despite not being the most prominent conflict, it is one of the longest-running relationships of the series. I feel like we watched them grow up onscreen, and when they shared that quiet apology and acceptance in the courtroom, I was genuinely proud. I do think that the two women gained a lot in terms of character growth from the extra episodes, and I appreciate how far they’ve come.

Su-ha’s growth is at a bit of a standstill, because we’ve been at this secret for far longer than we needed to be. But now that Hye-sung knows (and more important things are at stake), we can finally get to the good stuff—oh you know, just life and death and whether or not our couple has a future with each other… or at all. See, when the stakes are that high, you can’t blame me for wondering why we’re wasting our precious time with less important questions. Giddyup, horsie. You’ve got people to save, and some of us might not be breathing until you do.

July 25, 2013 at 8:25 PM

UNREGISTERED

OH MY GOD! How can this show end like that and make me wait for a week to see what happens?! And that voiceover by Su-ha at the end? Noooooooooo! PLEASE tell me that it ends their 11 years of worrying about Min Joon-gook, not their 11-year connection to each other!

I think I'm too much of an emotional mess right now. This episode really did me in, thinking I was going to be bored with flashbacks on minute, and then WHAM, punching me in the gut. I can't believe I actually groaned when Attorney Oska started his Red Socks flashback. I thought we were in for a big old slice of filler, but then the reveal! When Kwan-woo tells Attorney Shin that was the case, the moment, the inspiration for his studying law and becoming a public defender? *sob*

Okay, for the not-as-emotional stuff:

I love most of Hye-sung's outfits in this how, but aren't they starting to verge on the unprofessional for a public defender? They're starting to be reminiscent of Aly McBeal -- lawyers with lots of leg. We're in the 21st century, not the 1990s.

My absolute favorite part of this episode? The two cops in the mall, one saying to the other that watching Su-ha and Hye-sung makes him want to date again, it looks so fun. But oops, what will your wife think? LOL!

Su-ha's dream was so cute, with Dream Hye-sung staying in character, grumping about the frilly dress, but then . . . Gah! Please tell me he can only read minds, not the future. Does Su-ha know that Min Joon-gook's wife, mother, AND son died? Ouch! Okay, so now I'm back to the emotional stuff. I think I need my own phone booth to rip apart, trying to make next Wednesday come RIGHT NOW! (And you just know that evil bastard used Su-ha's phone to trick Hye-sung into walking into his trap! And why did he have to buy that necklace after his nightmare, making it a premonition!)

July 25, 2013 at 8:35 PM

July 25, 2013 at 8:57 PM

UNREGISTERED

I finished watching this episode around 11:00 ET, then immediately came here to get GF's take on it and see what everybody was thinking/saying about the episode. Since this show is drama crack, I thought I'd go crazy refreshing the page, waiting for the recap, so I ended up typing up my reactions while I waited. Otherwise, I might have broken my computer since I don't have a phone booth handy. :P

July 25, 2013 at 11:35 PM

UNREGISTERED

I reread the voiceover after finding your comment here and HOPE it does mean that - the end of the history with MJG. The wording is ambiguous enough (at least in the English translation) to derive that as the meaning, rather than the end of SH and HS *talking self into this by repeating the possibility*

July 26, 2013 at 8:37 AM

UNREGISTERED

Maybe this is what he says after she is saved but can't forgive him for not telling her the truth and she is just overwhelmed by it all. Then we spend the last ep with them finding each other again. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!

July 25, 2013 at 8:57 PM

UNREGISTERED

Well, on the site note, I think Hye-sung's outfits (and also Do-yeon's outfits) look professional enough for their jobs. Talking about unprofessional outfit, if you watch Shark, I always wonder if there is any prosecutor in South Korea who dresses like Hae-woo.

July 25, 2013 at 9:11 PM

UNREGISTERED

Okay, I'm going to convince myself that there's no way it will be a romantic survivor gift, because if Hye-sung lives and Su-ha doesn't, then how the hell is Su-ha giving us a voiceover narration if he's dead? Huh? Yeah, I've just convinced myself right there. . . . I hope.

July 25, 2013 at 9:20 PM

UNREGISTERED

I want you to be right!! Let Hye Sung n Suha be alive and have their happily ever after please!!!!! None of them die.. Ok even if they make the villain survive n get his happy ending.. I am fine with it too!!!!

July 26, 2013 at 12:16 PM

July 31, 2013 at 7:26 PM

July 26, 2013 at 6:46 PM

UNREGISTERED

Have you guys seen the ratings? Been going up up and away!
27-28% for ep 16. Can't imagine what it'll be next week, w everyone tuning in to find out the ending.

I sure hope and believe the voice over is just there to play w our heads, so that viewers would all be anxious and rush home to sit in front of the tv next week, to bring the ratings to that ever desired-ever elusive 30% mark.

If they don't die, the show deserves its 30%. Or else, they deserve Eggs! Stinky rotten ones!

July 27, 2013 at 11:50 AM

UNREGISTERED

If they gave me an Happy ending I would be happy if the show reached 30 % but if not i am sure i for one will be disappointed that they let down so many anxious viewers. Who probably waited for Wednesday to arrive inspite of their hectic life schedules

July 25, 2013 at 9:12 PM

UNREGISTERED

I was thinking the same thing about Hye-sung's clothes. One of her "dresses" was like a black version of Tinkerbe's costume. It reminded me of I Am Legend, where What's Her Face kept showing up to court in mini skirts and tank tops.

July 25, 2013 at 9:25 PM

UNREGISTERED

That was my first thought when the phone went missing: that it was the focus of the theft and not money. So either Min Joon-gook called Hye-sung or he used Su-ha's phone to find her location like she did to find Su-ha in episode 9. (Su-ha set up the tracking app on their new phones in episode 13.)

July 25, 2013 at 10:02 PM

UNREGISTERED

I know--

Totally agree with you--the moment the theft happened I knew it was about the cell phone. Anyone using SuHa's cell could text and HyeSung would always go where SuHa asked her to go, and SuHa's phone would track her.

I will say I felt as if they dropped SuHa's IQ by a few points from the moment of the robbery until the end of the episode. Maybe he had gotten complacent because Joon Gook hadn't shown his hand for a while--that doesn't explain it because Joon Gook had been sending letters.

Also that surveillance detail was weird. How can you tail two people in one car. Also, in the mall when Hye-sung wandered off, both officers stayed with SuHa. That wasn't given Hye-Sung any protection.

July 26, 2013 at 12:10 AM

UNREGISTERED

Agree with you. It's not so much Su Ha has become complacent or turned dumb but more the fact that at that moment he was more preoccupied with Hye Sung discovering his secret and knowing he's lied to her. His worry that it'd end their relationship attests to it.

"What if she hears my voice and hangs up? If this is the end, will I be able to live?” This kills me. T.T

July 26, 2013 at 4:13 PM

UNREGISTERED

Yeah, he probably got distracted by the whole my-daddy-might-be-a-true-villain-cant-let-her-know-just-yet arc. Plus, they had their hands full with Prosecutor DY/GI's case.

But more so, I think his eagerness to impress HS with the necklace and subsequent retrieval at the station kinda took a few unnecessary hours off his schedule which made him late to escort HS (perhaps that's why Cha did it?) and in that window period, MGJ managed to get to her.

I think the sneaking suspicion that we all had about MGJ setting up the robbery is true. Which idiot takes just the handphone and not the wallet or necklace?

I suspect that perhaps HS took a moment to call/contact SH right after being left alone in court to confront him about Cha's reveal only to get MGJ on the line, a parallel of what happened when SH called. She freaks out like how SH did, and knowing her, it's quite likely she would comply with his requests to meet him under some guise of a threat to SH's life.

I know it sounds too coincidental to be true, but this is life in dramaland. Maybe MGJ's a meticulous stalker, had their daily routine written down in a creepy notebook, knew all the blind spots in the courthouse and orchestrated the kidnap down to a T, who knows.

About the surveillance, I am assuming the one as to SH tails him on foot ("That kid runs fast!") while his superior gets to stakeout in a cushy car outside her office and then the court.

July 26, 2013 at 5:11 PM

July 26, 2013 at 6:40 PM

UNREGISTERED

I don't feel that he's trying to "impress" HS w the necklace. I feel that he genuinely ever wants to do whatever pleases her.
"She is eyeing that necklace. She wants it but thinks it's expensive. Do I have the money in the bank to buy it For her?"

All he ever wants to do is to make her happy. I think that's why all of us are shipping these two like mad, even ppl who thought SH was too young for her at the beginning.

July 2, 2014 at 8:32 AM

July 25, 2013 at 9:46 PM

UNREGISTERED

I noticed the Hyesung's short dress too. And then I totally forgave her right after. Gotta give her a break - it's getting to the last episodes and MJK is after her. Why not show off her legs to Suha while both of 'em are still alive?

July 26, 2013 at 10:16 AM

UNREGISTERED

LOL.

Man imo there are 5 most likely ways the series will end :

1. HAPPY
Su-Ha teams up with Kwan-Woo and the cops, saving Hye-Sung and putting MJK in prison. Hye-Sung then lives with Su-Ha happily ever after or ends up with Kwan-Woo but at least she's still alive right?
2. Poor Hye-Sung
Su-Ha reaches MJK and after an emotional confrontation, he fight him and wins but Hye-Sung dies in the process. Su-Ha is devastated but remembers what Hye-Sung told him and leaves to join the Police Force.
3. Poor Su-Ha
Su-Ha reaches MJK but ends up having to sacrifice himself for Hye-Sung. His dying wishes are to forgive MJK and become the defender of people he knows she will be. We see a time skip and Hye-Sung is working harder than ever, fulfilling Su-Ha's wishes and being the best lawyer she can be.
4. Poor Kwan-Woo
Su-Ha teams up with Kwan-Woo and the manage to save Hye-Sung, but Kwan-Woo dies in the process. He wishes the two of them luck and passes leaving Hye-Sung crushed. Either they try to move on in their relationship or their love story ends right there.
5. Poor Hye-Sung and Su-Ha
Su-Ha and Kwan-Woo find Hye-Sung and defeat MJK. Both Su-Ha and Hye-Sung are dying and confess their mistakes to Kwan-Woo. Hye-Sung says she always cared for him and Su-Ha says that he never deserved to be with Hye-Sung and apologizes at his behavior to him. Kwan-Woo mourns and strives to fight for everything those two believed in.

AND....

WHAT I WANT TO HAPPEN (NEEDS A SEQUEL)
Hye-Sung dies in Su-Ha's arms and he swears revenge on MJK who escapes. He spends the next 5 years training and makes a fortune (idk how but watever). Basically the sequel turns into a CITY HUNTER show where Su-Ha struggles to bring MJK to justice and does everything he can to help a passionate prosecutor correct the law system guiding their nation, trying to eliminate the injustices occurring due to their faulty law system not giving the victim any privileges (as stated by Hye-Sung in the episode where MJK is released as a free man).

July 26, 2013 at 4:39 PM

UNREGISTERED

I think if your preferred ending happen, I would bang my head on my wall out of frustration. I love city hunter and all, but THAT ending? Made me not able to rewatch the wonderful drama that it was. If a drama goes through soooo much pain, it needs to have a pay off of a happy ending, that's all I'm sayin'. :)

July 26, 2013 at 6:58 PM

UNREGISTERED

1. She ends up w Cha? Which rabbit hole can that be pulled out of?
2. HS dies? Then it's POOR Suha, NOT poor HS. Like he said, Will he be able to live w/o her?
3. Suha dies? NOOOOOOOOOOO. And HS lives as an old maid?? Good God!
4. Cha dies. Why would Suha and HS's love die there? Have we been watching the same drama?
5. Both SH & HS die? ............ OK. Not the same drama.

July 26, 2013 at 10:06 PM

July 29, 2013 at 9:19 PM

UNREGISTERED

You forgot another outcome
#7. Poor Hye-sung, Happy Cha and Happy Suha
MJK is caught, sent to prison for life. Cha and Suha get together, leave Hyesung after realizing women are to complicated. Cha and Suha end up reenacting their Secret Garden scenes but instead they get together this time.

July 26, 2013 at 4:21 PM

UNREGISTERED

Is it just me or did the skirt magically became shorter in the scene where she was watching the TV with SH? I have this feeling that LBY accidentally readjusted her skirt with the longer sides to the side?

July 27, 2013 at 2:31 AM

July 27, 2013 at 7:52 AM

UNREGISTERED

Yes, when she jumped off the sofa to get mad at the news broadcast, the camera was focused on Su-ha's head and Hye-sung's thighs. I thought it was odd that her skirt was bunched up so high you could almost see her underwear, but sweet Su-ha doesn't even notice the peek-a-boo opportunity right behind his head. *snicker*

July 28, 2013 at 12:50 PM

July 29, 2013 at 1:40 PM

UNREGISTERED

I love this series! At first, I was totally annoyed another adult woman and teen male leads concept - how can a HS student be a believable romantic lead for an adult woman? I've squashed that and just enjoyed this thoughtful and suspenseful series.

I come to Dramabeans to see I any nuances were "lost in subs" and even the recaps (episode 14) make me tear up!

Yes! Ally McBeal reference... Hye-sung's clothes are great, but seems a bit too much for court. Still she's got to look good or we'd complain about boring suits too. lol

July 25, 2013 at 8:25 PM

UNREGISTERED

Even though the extension slowed down things a little bit, I must say the good moments make it all worthwhile. Watching Lawyer Cha and Lawyer Shin’s argument was priceless; Do-yeon apologizing and bonding with her father was touching and fun (that selca!); and the first half of Su-ha’s dream was cute. Also, by now I think we know that there is no way that Hye-sung would end up with Lawyer Cha. Nothing has been set up to indicate this could be a possibility. The question now is if death will tear apart. I am hoping and praying that this will not be the case. Or else I will take a few clues from Min Joon-gook and go hunt the writer down.
Another (crazy) thought: Min Joon-gook was arrested for the disturbance in the hospital when his wife died. His mother with Alzheimer’s took his very young son and died in the street because she had nowhere to go. Then Su-ha’s father, out of guilt, adopted the kid. Min Joon-gook gets out of jail and doesn’t recognize his son, Su-ha. We know the rest of the story. Crazy! Of course, I sincerely hope it doesn’t go that way. But I am suspicious that Su-ha has never spoken about his mom, and yet we see her picture in the locket. That would just be nuts. Please drama, prove me wrong.

July 25, 2013 at 8:31 PM

UNREGISTERED

Oh my gosh...

If that really happens, it'd ruin the drama for me, because everything I love about this drama is the fact that is doesn't go by the typical drama norms and cliche. If that happens, it'd be the worst makjang ever.

July 25, 2013 at 9:34 PM

If they go there, with Su-ha being Joon Gook forgotten/mis-identified son, taken in by reporter Park out of guilt or a sense of obligation--it becomes a Korean-Greek tragedy. A reversed Oedipus Rex.

Oedipus killed an old man who wouldn't give way on the roadbridge so he could pass on, not recognizing/knowing that the old man was his biological father Laius.

The consequence of that murder was a plague on Thebes, only when Oedipus recognize his blame, and stabbed out his eyes so he couldn't the disaster he had brought about, and went into exile, did the plague lift from Thebes.

If Joon Gook wife and Su-Ha's mother was the same women, and Joon Gook got 4 years in jail, separating him from his six-year old son--

And Joon Gook in his greed for vengeance unleashes a plague of terror.

This writer loves parallels and I think does them well.

So the so Su-Ha's pendant is the equivalent to Oedipus's swollen foot. It will allow Joon Gook to recognize him--if Su-Ha is his son.

Also the ambiguity of who Do-Yeon means when she says "father" echos here.

Because when Joon Gook says Su-Ha's father started it all, which father does he mean, Reporter Park or Joon Gook?

Let's hope they skip the incest plot line of Oedipus and not have Hye-Sung be a close blood relative to Su-ha or Joon-Gook.

It age difference between Hye-Sung and Su-ha isn't that different than between Jocasta and Oedipus.

But I'm pretty sure Hye-Sung is not Su-Ha's mom. And it did not end well for Jocasta.

If the writer goes anywhere near the Oepidus plot, let's hope she sticks with 'reversal' and 'recognition' and end it with Joon-Gook stabbing out his own eyes.

I think the reiteration of 'the best Mom in k-drama" lesson in forgiveness is necessary to this drama because it seems no matter how you slice it, it is probably that one of Su-ha's fathers started a chain of events the affected Hye-Sung's life in a catastrophic manner. Luckily she has been exposed to wonderful examples of forgiveness in this drama.

July 27, 2013 at 7:50 AM

UNREGISTERED

This makes some sense, sadly. So Ha as MJG's son is the one revelation that could actually undo MJG from the inside. That Hye Sung in fact stopped him from killing his child when she snapped that picture. That would stop his revenge in its tracks and probably lead to his suicide.

The worse is that there's a simple explanation for SH's lack of recognition of his real father - he has a history of burying terrible memories. Grandma dying in the streets would fit the bill. It's a stretch, clearly, but maybe this memory loss is hereditary and would explain MJG's blindness in shamelessly trying to kill his own son years ago.

BUT ew. EW! I would hate this. And honestly I don't think it's the kind of thing you can process in two episodes, even if this show is notorious for its breakneck speed.

July 29, 2013 at 9:16 PM

His mother is shown as a mysteriously anonymous figure within the show with a face. The face that is encased within SH's pendant. SH was even evasive when Jjang enquired about his mother!

I think his mother was MJK's lover. SH's "father" who was killed by MJK wrote an article involving a heart transplant. MJK believed the article 98373987498734%%. His "lover" went through this heart transplant thanks to MJK's recommendation The transplant went wrong?? MJK became the furious incredible hulk that reigned chaos throughout the entire venue ( as shown in one snippet )

Then MJK's "lover's" son was entrusted to his grandmother. She starved in the toilet?? The reporter to cover the case was SH's "father" who was killed by MJK?? He saw the little boy and adopted him?? It parallels with DY's case of the fathers!! There were several other cases where MJK's case and the court case paralleled with one another vice versa!

July 29, 2013 at 9:30 PM

UNREGISTERED

++ and oooh i think his pendent will be recognised by MJK. The pendent contains only the picture of MJK and mother duo anw. Why was there no pic of him and the father whom MJK killed previously unless this pendent was with him longer than when SH and "father" met???

I think MJK will recognise the pendent too. SH will feel anguish remorse that his biological fthr is the same person who killed Jjang's mother. He can't kill MJK i think the other lawyer can!! What was his name??? The lawyer who has a soft spot for Lawyer Jjang!! They walked out all unscathed but SH will detest himself and his whatever biological system. I think he will distance himself away from Jjang despite Jjang not being explosive with him??

Then Jjang will be with the other lawyer. SH will resume independent education in the what's that police force academy?? Without communicating/loveydovey with Jjang. SH becomes a police and met Jjang coincidentally. They rekindled their relationship but as siblings type of relationship instead???????

July 27, 2013 at 9:24 AM

UNREGISTERED

I'll bring the blade.

Seriously GF, you are too funny! I fall back on my bed laughing at your comments. I love your recaps; your site is my go-to site after watching IHYV. You bring clarity to the drama as well as add fun and great insight. Your recaps and comments extend the enjoyment of the drama.

Most importantly for me, your comments (along with all the others) rescued me from serious personal concern about my emotional well-being - Because I am having fits about this drama! I am experiencing ALL of the same emotions that everyone has written (including a sense of violent reaction if either SH or HS is killed).

I'm thinking we should take a page from Cha's book and spread dog poop on somebody's car if this thing doesn't end right.

July 25, 2013 at 8:51 PM

UNREGISTERED

I had misunderstood when watching the drama, and thought that the grandma and the kid both died. Oh, hell. But after reading your theory, I wish that I hadn't, not that it isn't a good one! It sounds plausible, which frightens me. If Su-ha really does turn out to be MJG's biological kid, I think I'll be sick to my stomach with a feeling of betrayal.

July 25, 2013 at 9:08 PM

UNREGISTERED

There're some details I read about the article on the dementia grandmom and the grandson (whom I believe to be MJK's mother and son):
both were starved to death in the toilet room in the park (no date specified, the article just said "last Monday").
Also, it said the daughter-in-law (maybe MJK's wife) died of heart disease 1 year ago. Then the son was arrested later so the two spent at least 3 months wandering around and ended up dead.

July 25, 2013 at 9:17 PM

UNREGISTERED

I am glad you can read Korean. I wish I could freeze those article screen shots just so that I can read what is written there. That should give us some hints right? Also, articles would carry dates (unless ofcourse the writer is trying to manipulate us a bit). I really want someone to tell me the gist fo the article. Plus, flashback showed the son... he did not look like Suha to me.

July 26, 2013 at 9:04 PM

UNREGISTERED

I'm not sure that SuHa would remember if Joon Gook is his father.

for a couple of reason

1- I assume Do-Yeon and Hye-Sung are the same age (29 or 30).
-Hwang Dal Joong was sentence to or served 26 years. Which means that De-Yeon was 3 or 4 when she was adopted and she had no memory of having other parents.
- the writer like to emphasize by having parallel actions.
- So she might repeat that trope.

2- SuHa has a habit of responding to tragedies psyco-phsyically.
-When his father reporter Park was murdered he lost his voice.
-After witnessing Joon Gook cutting off his own hands he lost his memory (with a able assist from the car accident)
- So if the writer said he forgot who his father was after being homeless and witnessing his Grandmother's death on the street, I would accept that because she has skillfully laid in that information into the script.

July 25, 2013 at 9:39 PM

July 25, 2013 at 9:24 PM

UNREGISTERED

this!....
when i read this and realized that it is a possibility...
all the hairs of my body just stood up like they took a bottle of viagra...
and worse... i have to wait a week.... to let them settle down.

July 26, 2013 at 12:47 AM

UNREGISTERED

OMG. The writer better not go there! But after reading what you said I'm getting visions of MJG fiddling with sooha's phone and findly opening the locket only to recognize his wife, put two and two together, and realize SH is his son. That is, if the locket is on SH's phone? Is it? Ughhhhh...just...they better not go there!!

July 26, 2013 at 6:50 AM

UNREGISTERED

The thing is, Su-ha would have known MJG is his father, no? The boy shown in the flashback with his grandmother looks old enough to know at least who his parents are. It makes no sense, since he is also old enough in the photo with his mother in the locket. Up to this point Su-ha has ever only acknowledged one father, unless his mother ran away with him when he was young with reporter Park. Maybe after the failed heart transplant Su-ha was restored to his biological father (aka MJG) but the two never met because MJG was arrested. And then Su-ha was taken away by reporter Park again before MJG was released?

July 26, 2013 at 12:57 AM

UNREGISTERED

you know what scared me the most....the moment SH dream on HS dead, reminds me when her mother dream of her drowning...something really bad is happening....i just scared if something happen so SH just like what happened to HS mother!!!! oh no!!!!!

July 26, 2013 at 9:14 AM

UNREGISTERED

"MGJ can’t have his complete revenge, can he?"

I still don't understand why Su-Ha's secret has been portrayed to be such a BIGGG deal. C'mon. Didn't Min Joon Gook already get his revenge by murdering his dad, and the professor? What does that have to do with Hye-Sung or Su-Ha? They had nothing to do with his wife dying.

If he's mad that Hye-Sung put him in jail (causing his mom and son to die because he couldn't take care of them), then maybe he should have thought of that first before he bludgeoned somebody to death?

DUDE, just stop BLAMING everyone for your freakish killing spree.

At this point, Min Joon Gook is just blood thirsty and is just using every excuse in the book to justify his killing.

Can you believe the secret has been dragged out for at least THREE episodes? I appreciated the character development but this is just too much IMO.

Here's hoping the final two episodes will go back to normal. Or we will have issues, show.

July 30, 2013 at 5:31 AM

UNREGISTERED

sweetpea, that's what I'm thinking now..MJG starts to bother HS's life right after he went out from jail and even killed her mom too..that is sooo cruel cruel cruel..then now he starts to reveal the truth story about SH's dad after killing those innocent people..I just can't get it with his revenges!

July 25, 2013 at 8:29 PM

UNREGISTERED

What, an end to their 11year history?! What do you mean, Show?! You can't kill off Lawyer Jjang or else we will have fistycuffs! Arg, I'm glad Hye Sung finally knows about the letters. Since she understands why Lawyer Oska was hiding them from her, I don't think there'll be much or any lets-take-a-break stuff between her and Su Ha because she's totally going to come back from being kidnapped so he can teasingly hit Su Ha... right?!

On a happier note, I'm loving how Hye Sung continues not to be afraid or ashamed to toot her own horn and being hr frugal self (ha, a necklace = 300 sausages). The pacing of the show seems to be affected by the extension but at least the filler is a bunch of cute. I'm going to need as much cute as I can get since I know the next episode is going to be an emotional sling shot.

July 25, 2013 at 10:08 PM

July 25, 2013 at 8:29 PM

UNREGISTERED

The tension is back! It began with Su-ha's dream then ratcheted up the moment I saw Min Joon Gook put that wrench in his murderous shopping basket, giving me teary flashbacks to awesome mom. I was on pins and needles, waiting for something awful to happen. Gah, Su-ha, I know that you wanted to have to an awesome romantic moment and were worried about the necklace (from your scary premonition dream no less), but hello, cellphone with tracking on it for Hye-sung?! You need that!

Needless to say, I think we all had that sinking feeling that said her disappearing was likely not over finding out about his dad. I hate when I’m proven right. SO NERVOUS to see fallout from this episode…I’ve already been scared by Su-ha’s ongoing narration, but that bit at the end just about did me in, that in 2 and half hours their 11 year history would be ending…this means the end of having to be scared of MJG, right? Not SH or HS, right? Right?

Ugh, scared as I am, I just know these next two episodes are going to be back to the tightly paced and tension filled show we know and love. But cute has always been a part of it too, so lets end on that!

July 25, 2013 at 8:29 PM

UNREGISTERED

Holy mackerel!
It looks like Suha may be MinJG's son after all! His wife died in the hosp. He went on a rampage there. Got jailed. His senile mother died of hunger, with his young son by her side. Where is that son?

I'd so hate for that son to be Suha, cos he'd be devastated! His monster father killed the only father he knew. And how can he face HS, know his father killed her mother? YUCKS! That'd suck BIG TIME.

July 25, 2013 at 8:48 PM

UNREGISTERED

Nooo. On yesterday's recap I (jokingly) mentioned how much of a mindf*** it would be if Su Ha was MJG's son I really hope not. There's enough conflict and other ways to go with the story for the writer's not even dare think about anything makjang. If that was to happen I would be like Su Ha in the phone booth at the end of this episode. Except the payphone will probably be my laptop.

July 25, 2013 at 10:54 PM

UNREGISTERED

Of course that is common sense. But when does common sense make any sense in Korean dramas. Wait my head is spinning... As much as we love this drama we have to admit a lot of it does not make sense. Like MJG only getting 10 years for killing SuHa's dad. And Do Yeon's birth secret (what was the point). And the fact that lawyers that should recuse themselves from cases where they have a personal involvement do not do it. (Really? The prosecutor and the daughter that provided the DNA are the same? Would this really be allowed under Korean law?). And the biggie: Su Ha can read minds, but only when he sees people's eyes. Does that make ANY sense?

And not the full sentences he hears in episode 1. If he can only read minds when he sees that person's eyes, then wouldn't it mean that he can only hear that person's thoughts for the duration that he looks into that person's eyes, and not be able to hear it anymore after he looks away?

July 26, 2013 at 2:42 AM

UNREGISTERED

I thought that - aside from that moment in episode one - perhaps he could do that when he wants to, meaning he can 'expand' his ability when he tries. Which opens up some interesting, X-men-like possibilities. And you're right, people don't really think in full, coherent sentences a lot of the time.

July 26, 2013 at 3:37 PM

UNREGISTERED

Lolol, maybe time freezes on the outside for a split second while he reads their thoughts. Just kidding.

I try to write it off as mysterious and that perhaps he doesn't understand the full extent of his power. As a plot device, it comes off as uneven at times BUT I do think the writer did an acceptable - not perfect - job of utilizing it for narrative purposes.

I still want it to go away though by the end of the series. Or slowly fade away. You're handicapped enough by your age, I don't want it to further jeopardize your policing and relationship, SH :/

July 27, 2013 at 10:26 AM

UNREGISTERED

Also, Suha as MJG's son would be the ultimate death knell to a SH/HS pairing. There is no way that HS could imagine having an intimate relationship with the son of MJG, even if it was Suha. She is over his age, she has forgiven him about her mother, she is going to have to get over him not telling her about his father. Add the notion of Papa MJG to the mix, and it's back to hello Lawyer Cha.

July 25, 2013 at 8:34 PM

UNREGISTERED

I just visit this site and suddenly the recaps pop up. Don't want to get spoiler because the subs still not available. But judging by the screencaps alone it's scary!! Don't want them to be separated! Please Show, please let them together happily ever after!!

July 26, 2013 at 8:20 AM

UNREGISTERED

I agree. I even thought of delaying watching today episode till tuesday because i could have waited a week after episode 15 for episode 16 without making myself a wreck but i know if i watched ep 16 they would make me wish episode 17 was available now.

How am i supposed to wait till thursaday morning for episode 17 with eng subs?

July 28, 2013 at 7:28 AM

UNREGISTERED

This is how I happen to manage my kdrama addiction, not watching shows as it runs. Well at least not until it's halfway done. I check out what's hot on dramabeans, marathon the past episodes and by the time I'm done its going into its last few episodes. Just in time to experience the peak of the nail biting anticipation with all of you beanies :-)

Now, I have the time back read all your delicious comments on this drama but...

July 26, 2013 at 7:30 AM

UNREGISTERED

Good luck with your decision. I entertained the same thought for just a second and gave up right away. I might be able to do it with other Kdramas, but definitely not this. I'm so obsessed with it that it (the obsession) drives me nuts.

July 27, 2013 at 12:02 PM

UNREGISTERED

You are right. I haven't thought like that . All i was thinking was where to find episode 17 right now since the cliffhanger is make me anxious. But what you said make sense what if episode 17 cliffhanger is more nerve wrecking.

I think i will wait till friday to watch episode 17 well my waiting time is getting longer.